A woman who suffered intensely painful periods for some 20 years was finally diagnosed with a revealing ailment — helping to clear up a mystery that began plaguing her even before she became a teenager.

Jen Moore, 35, a former wedding cake baker, said she was unable to stand up straight when she first began experiencing painful periods as a girl of 11 years old.

She said doctors put her on birth control pills to try to reduce her periods, according to news agency SWNS — but that didn't alleviate her pain over the years.

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She was informed by doctors that what she was experiencing was "normal," she told the news agency — and that she was just someone who was "unlucky" to have painful menstrual periods.

But during the COVID lockdown, when she came off the contraceptives after 22 years, she said she "didn't recognize the person she became" and would often pass out from the pain and blood loss.

When she went to a physician due to her menstrual pain and had an ultrasound, she was told that no endometriosis had been detected, she told SWNS.

Not satisfied, Moore, of Cambridge, England, paid on her own to have an MRI scan.

She was ultimately diagnosed with endometriosis and adenomyosis, conditions in which the lining of the uterus grows in places where it should not be.

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Said Moore, "At the time, I thought it was normal because I didn't know any different."

When she was young, she said, her mother took her to see doctors — and Moore said she was told that her painful periods eventually would stop.

She said doctors told her that even if she did have endometriosis, "all they would do is put me on the pill."

She also said that today she still feels "rage" at what happened to her.

"I also feel heartbroken," she told SWNS, "thinking about myself as an 11-year-old who had no idea she was about to go through so many of these things."

She added, "I feel hope that generations are standing up and that they don't want to tolerate this anymore."

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Yet "I feel that it shouldn't have to fall to the patients to do that," she also said.

Moore said that even now, she feels "exhausted" and that there "isn't an area of my life" that this hasn't touched.

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She said that even though she had painful periods for so long, she wanted to go to college and try to live as normal a life as possible, "despite being bed-bound" for about a week every month. 

She has learned, she said, that she has endometriosis on her bowels and her bladder — "it's everywhere again, it's just relentless."

She said she's had "this condition damaging her organs for 22 years — that's a lot of damage to unpick, so surgeries are never magic and [don't] always provide a pain-free life."

"Unfortunately," she said, "there is still a lot of endometriosis for me."

Janet Lindsay, CEO of Wellbeing of Women, told SWNS, "Endometriosis is a condition that affects the lives of many women, often for years before a diagnosis is made … For too long, women's pain has been dismissed or misunderstood."

There is an "urgent need," she said, "for greater awareness, early diagnosis, and better support for those living with the condition."

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Last year, Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, discussed her recovery from surgery following an endometriosis diagnosis. 

Irwin, 26, said her "inescapable" pain was dismissed by doctors for 10 years as she was tested for all kinds of diseases.

"I was tested for everything," Irwin told People magazine last summer. "Every tropical disease, Lyme disease, cancer, you name it. I had every blood test and scan imaginable."

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Endometriosis, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a condition "in which cells similar to the lining of the uterus, or endometrium, grow outside the uterus," as Fox News Digital previously reported.

"Endometriosis often involves the pelvic tissue and can envelop the ovaries and fallopian tubes."

The condition can be severely painful for those suffering from it — and it can impact fertility and menstruation.

Lauryn Overhultz of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.

A new opioid-free pain medication was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, marking a non-addictive alternative for patients.

Journavx (suzetrigine), made by Vertex, is the "first and only approved non-opioid oral pain signal inhibitor," according to a press release from the Massachusetts-based company.

The new drug is intended for treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults. 

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Patients with acute pain after surgery or due to a broken bone or an injury are often prescribed opioid medications, according to Julie Pilitsis, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon at Banner – University Medicine and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson.

"This is the first time many patients receive opioids, and a subset of patients are known to go on to become dependent or addicted to the medications," she told Fox News Digital.

"Patients with pain have had very few options to treat their pain with medications that don’t have addictive properties or side effects they can’t tolerate."

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The main reason traditional pain relievers have addictive properties or intolerable side effects is that they work by modifying receptors in the brain, Pilitsis noted.

"This medication — which is a drug that inhibits sodium channels — works outside the brain on pain receptors," she noted.

"To have a non-opioid option to prescribe in these cases is exciting — and this is the first time in nearly two decades that we have something new to offer patients for acute pain."

Acute pain — sudden or urgent pain that results from injury, trauma or surgery — affects more than 80 million Americans annually and is the most common reason for emergency department visits, according to statistics.

Around half of these will be prescribed an opioid, and 10% of those will have "prolonged opioid use."

In 2023, more than five million Americans 12 and older reported a "prescription use disorder" within the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Approximately 294,000 people died from prescription opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2022, the above source stated.

By managing acute pain effectively, suzetrigine may help prevent it from developing into chronic pain without the danger of dependency, meeting a "major unmet need," noted Jianguo Cheng, MD, PhD, a pain management specialist at Cleveland Clinic.

"Many current therapies rely on opioids, contributing to dependency and misuse," he told Fox News Digital. "Suzetrigine’s non-opioid mechanism eliminates risks of misuse, addiction and respiratory depression, making it a safer alternative for acute pain management."

In addition to acute pain, suzetrigine may also be a solution for neuropathic (nerve) pain, depending on the results of further studies, the doctor added.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, also applauded the approval of suzetrigine.

"It has no sign of addiction, which makes it a hugely important new tool as we fight the opioid epidemic," he told Fox News Digital.

In clinical trials, the non-opioid medication received high patient satisfaction ratings, with 83% reporting "good" to "excellent" pain relief in real-world applications, Cheng noted.

Siegel noted that the drug has shown to decrease pain by about half, which he described as "excellent."

"This drug is a big step forward and has been well-studied," he added.

Suzetrigine has become available for patients with acute pain, noted Pilitsis. 

"It will be important to find physicians who are comfortable prescribing pain medications and to check with your insurance company to ensure that it is covered," she advised.

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The medication is expected to fall under the Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation (NOPAIN) Act, effective January 2025, which provides Medicare coverage for FDA-approved non-opioid pain therapies, according to Cheng. 

"This policy aims to improve access and affordability, ensuring suzetrigine’s inclusion in outpatient and surgical settings while reducing reliance on opioids," he said. 

The most common side effects of Journavx, according to the company’s website, include itching, muscle spasms, rash, and increased levels of an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase in the blood, among others.

The drug may also cause temporary fertility challenges.

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Certain medications can increase the risk of side effects and affect the drug’s effectiveness, the company cautioned, as can food or drink containing grapefruit.

Patients should see their doctor if any side effects become bothersome or do not go away.

Fox News Digital reached out to Vertex for additional comment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially banned red dye — called Red 3, or Erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines, as reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Food manufacturers must remove the dye from their products by will have January 2027, while drug manufacturers will have until January 2028 to do so, AP stated. 

Any foods imported into the U.S. from other countries will also be subject to the new regulation.

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"The FDA is taking action that will remove the authorization for the use of FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs," said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, in a statement. 

"Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3," he continued. "Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans."

The synthetic dye, which is made from petroleum, is used as a color additive in food and ingested drugs to give them a "bright cherry-red color," according to an online statement from the FDA.

The petition to ban the dye cited the Delaney Clause, which states that the agency cannot classify a color additive as safe if it has been found to induce cancer in humans or animals.

The dye was removed from cosmetics nearly 35 years ago due to potential cancer risk.

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"This is a welcome, but long overdue, action from the FDA: removing the unsustainable double standard in which Red 3 was banned from lipstick but permitted in candy," said Dr. Peter Lurie, director of the group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which led the petition effort, as reported by AP.

Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group.

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The petition to remove Red No. 3 from foods, supplements and medications was presented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and scientists.

A new trend gaining popularity among people trying to lose weight is microdosing the diabetes medication Ozempic.

With approximately 70% of American adults meeting the criteria for being obese or overweight, more people are turning to weight loss medications to help them shed pounds.

Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes, while its counterpart, Wegovy, is approved for treating obesity. Both are made by Novo Nordisk.

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Eli Lilly also offers a diabetes medication, Mounjaro, as well as a version for weight loss, Zepbound.

"Ozempic is the only version among the weekly injectables — Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro — that has the option to ‘hack’ the pen for a smaller dose," Dr. Alexandra Sowa, an obesity medicine specialist and founder of SoWell in New York, told Fox News Digital.

She is also the author of the book "The Ozempic Revolution" that is set to be released on Jan. 7.

Fox News Digital spoke to the experts to get the skinny on this latest trend.

Microdosing Ozempic refers to using smaller amounts compared to the standard therapeutic doses that are traditionally prescribed for managing type 2 diabetes and aiding weight loss, experts say. 

This practice is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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"Health care clinicians do not typically recommend this approach, as the standard dosing regimen is based on clinical trials determining the most effective and safe amount for these conditions," noted Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

There are no established guidelines for microdosing – although there are reports on social media of using 10 to 100 times lower than standard prescriptions, added Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist and obesity specialist who runs True You Weight Loss in Cary, North Carolina.

Some people get confused by the terminology, the doctors noted.

"I think there's a little bit of a misconception, as some people say ‘I'm microdosing’ when they're just on the starting doses or don’t go all the way up in the escalation titration dosing of the medication," Sowa said.

The primary reason for microdosing is to reduce costs, according to McGowan.

For example, he said, a patient might think that if a full prescription costs over $250 per week, they may be able to achieve some benefit with just $25 worth of the medication.

The average monthly retail price of Ozempic ranges from $1,000 or more without insurance, per GoodRx.

People may also pursue microdosing to reduce the incidence or severity of side effects such as nausea, vomiting or stomach discomfort, according to Stanford.

"Some individuals might start with microdoses to gradually acclimate their body to the medication, potentially easing into the full therapeutic dose over time," she said.

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Any potential benefit of the medication, however, will likely wane proportionally with lower doses, experts noted.

Individuals may also microdose due to supply challenges, according to Dr. Amy Rothberg, clinical professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes at the University of Michigan. 

"Some feel they may derive a benefit from microdosing by being able to extend their supply and may perceive an effect," Rothberg, who is also the medical director of Rewind, a lifestyle program for type 2 diabetes patients, told Fox News Digital. "As we know, the placebo effect may have a strong impact."

The most likely risk of microdosing is a lack of effectiveness, McGowan noted.

"Microdosing Ozempic or other [weight-loss] medications is entirely off-label and unproven, with no supporting clinical studies," he cautioned.

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Stanford also warned that smaller doses may not provide adequate blood sugar management, leading to uncontrolled diabetes and associated complications.

It can also lead to suboptimal weight loss and unpredictable results, as well as the potential for misuse, she added.

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People who microdose often use a "compounded" version of the medication, which the FDA does not regulate.

"This introduces risks such as contamination, inconsistent formulations and uncertainty about the actual strength of the product being injected," McGowan stated.

Additionally, these compounded versions are usually dispensed in vials, which requires a syringe to draw it up, in contrast to the FDA-approved versions that are simpler to use.

Using the compounded versions through vials runs the risk of drawing up too much medication — so instead of microdosing, it's possible to macrodose, Sowa warned. 

Some providers are still comfortable offering microdosing for select patients with one caveat — that people should always consult a health care clinician before altering their medication regimen. 

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"As long as it is being dispensed and monitored by a physician, I don’t see how anybody is going to overdose, especially when we are giving such small amounts," Dr. Suzanne A. Trott, a double board-certified plastic and general surgeon in Beverly Hills, told Fox News Digital.

"I have seen a lot of patients who are given metformin for weight loss — I don’t see how this is any different," said Trott, who runs her own microdosing clinic.

Trott pointed out that there are many "off-label" practices offered to patients.

"Botox and fillers are not even FDA-approved for most of the places we use them," she noted.

Experts agree that sustained weight loss will not occur with medication alone.

"I think people find that it’s easier to take a drug, but neglect concomitant behavioral changes," Rothberg said.

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In the absence of changes to diet and physical activity patterns, the long-term benefits will disappear once the drug is stopped, she noted.

Trott also recommends maintaining consistent exercise, strength training, hydration and high protein intake to maintain muscle mass.

Fox News Digital reached out to Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, for comment.

At the beginning of 2024, the American Cancer Society predicted that 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths would occur in the United States.

Now, as the year draws to a close, experts are looking back and reflecting on the discoveries and advances that have been made in the field of cancer treatment and prevention.

Fox News Digital spoke with four oncologists from the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, about the most notable accomplishments of 2024 and what they see on the horizon for 2025. 

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See the answers and questions below. 

A: In the field of lymphomas, we see growing momentum for therapies that use the patient's own immune system to fight their cancer, such as CAR T-cell therapy and bispecific antibodies. 

These are treatments that are now being studied and are making an impact earlier in the disease course, including one now being studied as the very first treatment a patient might receive for their lymphoma. 

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These treatments are helping us to be less dependent on chemotherapies (which may be effective but have broad side effects) for the treatment of lymphomas.  

A: Every year we are improving the curative treatment options we have for specific types of lymphomas, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which is the most common lymphoma we see. 

We are also gradually becoming better able to offer these treatments closer to – or in – patients’ homes and communities, so they can receive the best care as close to home as possible. 

I believe that in 2025, we will continue to see more advancement in immunotherapies, development of more targeted therapies (including oral medicines), and hopefully soon the approval of next generations of immunotherapies that may work for patients who have already received today's immunotherapies but need more treatment options.

A: It has changed and evolved dramatically. A decade ago, care for lymphomas was primarily chemotherapy-based. Now, we are shifting rapidly away from chemotherapies in some types of lymphomas in favor of immunotherapies and targeted oral therapies that lead to excellent long-term outcomes for patients, with fewer side effects than historical treatments.

A: We think of lymphomas as diseases of aging for most patients. Some patients may have select risk factors, such as being on specific immunosuppressants or having exposure to very specific industrial chemicals. 

Those risks may or may not be so modifiable for patients, and they represent the minority of patients who develop lymphoma. 

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While it is not entirely clear what modifiable risks patients may have, there is ongoing work to help better answer that question. However, we know that the better general health someone is in, the more likely they are to have any and all treatment options available to them. 

I would say that for most people, exercising regularly, eating well and sleeping regularly are important.

A: There is great hope and a lot of exciting science happening to help us drive toward more cures, more effective treatments and less toxic treatments for lymphomas. 

We have already made major strides in the last decade, and we continue to build on that momentum through clinical trials that provide early access to cutting-edge therapies. 

For patients, participating in clinical trials may help to close that time gap between the treatments that are broadly available today and the treatments we expect to be available years from now. 

They also provide a way for patients to contribute positively to the care patients in future generations may receive, which I have been told by many of my patients is something they really want to do and something that is important to them.

A: The two most exciting focuses of 2024 were 1) expansion of targeted therapies in the curative setting for hormonally driven breast cancer and 2) antibody drug conjugates. 

First, three different CDK4/6 inhibitors have been approved in the metastatic setting, and they improve survival and outcomes. 

In 2024, we saw the approval of a second one in the curative setting, enabling us to identify the highest-risk patients and offer them something additional to endocrine therapy to improve cure rates.

Second, we now have multiple antibody drug conjugates approved across all types of breast cancer. These therapies target a chemotherapy drug directly to the tumor via an antibody-honing mechanism and largely spare normal body cells.

A: I anticipate seeing more targeted agents in 2025 and the approval of antibody drug conjugates in curative early breast cancer — currently, most are only approved in metastatic cancer.

[I also anticipate] drugs that are better tolerated with decreased side effects for patients, and a continued emphasis on personalized medicine. 

A: In 2024, truly personalized medicine is possible, from mutation testing to direct targeted therapy to what a cancer needs to grow — as well as being able to provide many HR+ breast cancer patients with curative chemotherapy through personalized risk stratification assays.

A: Continued breast screening with mammograms yearly is really important to find cancers earlier when a cure is more likely.  

People can also reduce their risk through avoiding alcohol and cigarettes and making sure they get regular exercise and maintain a normal body weight.

A: In 2024, precision cancer treatment made big strides with many new drug approvals by the FDA, specifically for treatments guided by specific biomarkers, which means treatments can be more precisely tailored to the genetic makeup of a person's cancer. 

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A key change was moving some therapies from faster, temporary approval processes to full approval, showing strong evidence that these targeted therapy drugs, such as tepotinib and amivantamab for certain types of lung cancer, are effective and safe. 

There were also new drug approvals for rare cancers, including tovorafenib, a BRAF precision medicine for a rare type of brain tumor in children, and afamitresgene autoleucel, a type of immunotherapy for a rare cancer called synovial sarcoma. This highlights important progress in treating these challenging conditions.

We have also seen the approval of precision therapies that work on different types of cancer — not just one specific cancer. This is what we call "tissue-agnostic therapies." 

One such drug is an antibody drug conjugate called trastuzumab deruxtecan, which acts like a smart missile targeting HER2-positive cancers. Another is repotrectinib, which works on any cancer that has the NTRK biomarker, regardless of where it is in the body.

A: By 2025, cancer research is likely to see advancements in precision oncology and the use of artificial intelligence. 

In precision oncology, we can expect more personalized treatment plans based on an individual's genetic makeup, leading to more effective and targeted therapies with fewer side effects. 

Additionally, AI will likely play a larger role in analyzing vast amounts of data to identify new drug targets, predict patient responses to treatments and enhance early detection methods. 

These advancements have the potential to improve cancer diagnosis, treatment and overall patient outcomes.

A: In the last 10 years, cancer treatment has changed dramatically. By using genetic information to create personalized treatments that match the specific details of each person's cancer, therapies are more effective and less harmful. 

New technologies such as analyzing cancer's genetic profile, blood tests that detect cancer, and treatments that boost the immune system have greatly improved how we diagnose, track and treat cancer, leading to better results for patients.

A: To lower the risk of cancer, people can avoid smoking, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, limit alcohol, protect their skin from the sun and maintain a healthy weight.

A: Get vaccines for viruses like HPV and hepatitis B, as they can lead to some cancers. Also, go for regular health checks to catch any signs of cancer early. 

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We are in a unique time when treatments can be tailored specifically to each person, and many of these are available through clinical trials. If you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, ask your doctor if there are any clinical trials that might be a good fit.

A: The first cellular therapy, Lifileucel, was approved in melanoma after decades of research in academia and industry. 

This is a significant step forward for both patients with melanoma, but also the field of oncology at large.

A: As we look to bring effective therapies from the metastatic setting into early stages of disease, we are anxiously awaiting updates in the next 18 to 24 months for a number of ongoing trials for combination therapy for patients with high-risk stage 2 or 3 melanoma.

A: Outcomes for melanoma have significantly changed over the past 10 years. 

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The five-year survival for patients with a diagnosis of stage 4 melanoma was less than 5% before 2010, and now clinical trials have shown that more than 50% of patients are still alive 10 years after being treated with FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A: Lifelong sun protective measures, such as wearing sunscreen, avoiding direct UV exposure during peak hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and avoiding tanning beds continue to be important starting at an early age.